Royal Energon
by AutobotScout
Summary: Nariko never stopped to think about it, but she'd never seen why Commander Starscream was so nervous around Predaking. All this talk of the beast being able to transform into a mech has peaked her interest, but she never thought she'd ever understand just why his name was Predaking.
1. Royal Energon

Royal Energon :..: Predaking/Nariko Machisu : fluff :

The doors to the Command Hub slid open a moment before she was standing directly before the dark metal doors, retracting into the walls just as she moved her hand up to show her presence. Her first thought was that Soundwave must've fixed it to merely open whenever she was near, which was good. Now she wouldn't have to count on KnockOut to open the doors for her.

Her mind once again focused on the task at hand; report to Lord Megatron the good news. After all, it wasn't every day that you bested an Autobot, especially when you were "a mere skinjob". And to have bested the Big O himself? It was something she would be proud of years later, no matter what the outcome of this war was.

Nariko's gaze fell across the room, studying all the streaks of color faded into the dark walls all around her. All the screens, while opened, were vacant, no Vehicon nor Soundwave in sight. She wondered where everyone had gone off to, about to turn back and head for the Med-Bay, where her partner would surely be waiting, when she caught sight of the one mech she had (somehow) missed.

(How the fuck did she miss _him? _He was bigger than even Lord Megatron!)

He was not in his beast form, as he usually was when around her, and his back was turned to her. Golden streaks of what she assumed to be tinted energon shone through his armor, which was without chips, but full of dents. He didn't seem to take note of her or the dents, but she noticed and memorized every single one.

She was so used to seeing the dragon-esque creature beside the Commander of all scientific endeavors, and even then he was pretty big. But now, as a proud mech, he towered over the lowly woman. Nariko heard the hitch in her breathing as she took a tentative step back, a strange burning sensation in the center of her chest as her brown eyes widened slightly. He was distinguished, as a king should be.

Predaking, she remembered his designation to be. KnockOut had told her as much.

So when Predaking (God, just his name _demanded _respect) shifted his pedes and turned just enough to stare at her, she was awestruck. The Japanese woman couldn't move an inch in any direction for fear of accidentally moving closer to the Crown and forcing him to see her in the light - she was in the spot just between the darkness of the hall and the bright light of the Command Hub. But even through the darkness, he seemed to look right at her, studying her just as she was studying him.

He could've seen her a thousand times already, so why did he thoroughly examine her now? Under his golden gaze, she was suddenly aware of how disheveled her clothes were, how desperately her ebony locks needed a good washing, the dirt that covered almost every inch of her usually clear skin, and the dried blood on the crook of her neck.

(Optimus Prime, however gentle he was with humans, could not control the way she slammed against a rock and drew some blood.)

In short, she looked unpleasant. And as she fluttered her gaze down to the floor and brought up her hand to cover the blood, she realized just how beneath him she was. In all of her time on the Nemesis, Nariko knew that she was lower than the rest of the Officers, and she accepted this fact. But to stand before Predaking as if she was honorable enough to do so was blasphemous. He was the one true king of the galaxies, and she was perhaps the lowest lifeform even among her own kind.

She was terribly poor, horribly dishonest. Not a day could go by where her foul mouth didn't land her into trouble with someone aboard the ship. She was nothing compared to him - a pesky amoeba, she realized. Just the thought of it made her heart sink in her chest, but Nariko finally peered back up at the large mech. His optics never seemed to have moved, locked firmly on her face and piercing into her eyes. If she was so low, why did he look at her like that?

The sound of a clearing throat barely caught her attention, but seeing him turn his head to the side just the slightest bit was signal enough to let her know he was flustered. Was he embarrassed for being caught staring? He didn't have to feel ashamed; in fact, she felt it should be the other way around. Predaking's optics never flickered back to her form, and she realized he very much didn't want to look at her. Perhaps out of self respect, since no King should have to look down at a peasant for too long.

"What is it that you desire, Nariko?" Finally snapped out of her pitiful daze (and surprised that he actually knew her name), she felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks at the rising shame in her heart. He must've felt terribly uncomfortable with how intensely she was staring, so she straightened her posture and ignored her humiliation. He had asked her a question, after all, and she was not one to keep a king waiting.

"I came to look for Lord Megatron, is all. I needed to report something to him. But, since he doesn't seem to be around, I think I'll take my leave." Curtsying enough to be noticed and quickly regretting the action, the Japanese woman quickly spun on her heel and nearly ran for the door. She managed a somewhat graceful speedwalk, and left the Command Hub as swiftly as she had entered.

But it was in her own determination to escape his gaze, that she wasn't aware of the way in which his bright golden optics trailed after her rushing figure. Neither did she notice the smile that tugged at his lips as he watched her until the doors closed.


	2. When Royalty Kneels

When Royalty Kneels :..: Predaking/Nariko Machisu : fluff : part 2 :

She was avoiding him, and not very well at hiding the fact. He could feel her gaze on him whenever he spoke, or whenever he returned from "battle" (which always seemed more like a beating, since the Autobots were not much of a match to him). The torture specialist whose designation was Nariko Machisu had thoughts about him, and they appeared to constantly be plaguing her mind. The Predacon often heard KnockOut teasing her whenever her eyes were glued to him for a moment too long.

Predaking did not mind the attention. In fact, ever since their last interaction two orns ago, (which he learned was a longer time for her. Twenty-six Earth days, to be exact), he couldn't get enough of her stares. Every time her warm brown eyes skipped over him, his spark felt as though it were on fire, but it was a wonderful sensation that left him longing for just a bit more than a stare whenever she thought he wasn't paying attention.

He wanted to hold her close, feel her warm-blooded body cuddled close to his chassis. As strange as the desire sounded, he wanted nothing more than for her to feel safe enough to fall asleep against him. He remembered reading somewhere that humans felt most secure with those they could sleep beside. Predaking wanted nothing more than for Nariko to honor him with that sort of trust.

She was a stunning human woman; dark locks tumbling just over her shoulders and stopping about her chest, pastel pink skirt perfect against her light skin, her eyes the shade of the sweets humans called "chocolate". Her accent was not thick, not as it must've been when she first became a Decepticon, but it sometimes prevented her from pronouncing words correctly. Any time that happened, she scrunched her nose up in embarrassment and looked around the room in distaste, hoping no one caught her mistake.

(He always did.)

(Not that he waited for her accent to act up, of course.)

All of those miniscule details made up Nariko Machisu, the human femme he swore to Primus was his intended sparkmate, his rightful queen. But feeling all of thse things towards someone whose life was so short would prove painful, he knew that. Then there was her reluctance for love; someone had hurt her before, that much was obvious in the sense of helplessness in her eyes every time she looked at him.

But it was all these things about her that helped him notice her absence when Lord Megatron ordered a retreat. Having been fighting in his beast form, he merely spread his wings and lifted himself into the air, turning to soar high above the battle and make sure all Decepticon forces had successfully escaped. His golden optics picked up on the movements of the Cybertronians far beneath him, and he nearly continued on to the Nemesis when all Vehicons were evacuated when he heard a desperate scream.

Predaking's attention instantly snapped back to Earth, the voice behind the cry for help painfully familiar in his audio receptors. Stuck between the two Autobot Wreckers was the small human, pistol frantically switching aim from the white and red mech to the dark green one. She would not be getting out of there, and he could just see the Prime taking her prisoner just to keep her alive. There was no way out for Nariko.

So he made one of his own.

A loud screech ripped past his mouthplate, the roar catching the attention of the Autobots on the ground and the human Decepticon. He swooped down as quickly as possibly, threatening to shoot flames out as he dove closer to the dirt. The smaller Wrecker jumped back just in time to dodge the attack, but that was the mistake; he assumed it was an attack and not a rescue.

So when his servo wrapped around the shaking human, she also let out a shrill scream when she was carred into the open air. She couldn't have seen it coming either, he realized a moment later. Predaking heard the Prime telling the Autobots to restrain from firing, for they might hit the girl. And just like that, the Predacon was allowed an easy escape.

Readjusting his grip on her, he chanced a glance down at her to see if she was okay. No signs of physical injury, the only sign of distress he saw was emotional. Her eyes were opened wide, her face paling at the height from the ground, her hands clenched tight around a single digit. She was truly terrified of being dropped, which he would never do. He cared for her too much to see her harmed.

Predaking landed not too long after the fight, careful not to slam her against the hard dirt and instead carefully releasing her. Still in his beast form, he nudged her forward an inch before continuing forward, hearing her footsteps follow after him. Nariko wasn't moving too fast, which was understandable. He read that humans often slowed down after a period of great fear.

(He had really done his research after their first encounter. While avoiding Shockwave's detection, he studied all there was to know about humans. They were very complex creatures with more uses than just slave labor.)

(But he would not be the one to inform Lord Megatron of this fact. He was not a fool.)

His transformation was quick, no falters in pace or a move out of line. He had perfected transforming back and forth, and knew that he was now graceful and fluid in his motions. Sure enough, when he glanced back at the Officer, he saw her eyes widen slightly as the blood rushed to her face, dusting her cheeks in a soft pink color that suited her tone very much.

They entered the main room of the lab, cylinders full of his nearly-finished brethren lined in two rows. Seeing them made his spark fill with pride, and his golden optics ran along them. He had seen them enough times to be able to picture them vividly in his processor whenever he was alone at night.

"何てことだ." _**[Oh my God]**_

The foreign language instantly brought his attention back to Nariko, who stood close to the nearest cylinder. Her small hands hesitantly reached up to press against the glass, staring through at the Predacon inside with a sense of awe in her brown eyes. Predaking's faceplate softened at her deep interest in what would soon be his people, but at the same time his spark clenched tight. He knew this feeling well, it was similar to the spite he felt whenever KnockOut made the woman laugh so hard, she nearly fell from his shoulder.

They had yet to become online, and yet they stole her attention from him. Her attention was not his to demand whenever he wanted it, he was well aware of that, but seeing her incredibly impressed by them made him a bit self conscious; was he not good enough to impress her any longer?

No, his processor told him, he could impress her. He knew this by the way she still fidgeted with him standing behind her, because it wasn't due to his size, though that was quite imposing. She didn't want to look at him for the fear of making a fool of herself, only she didn't realize that he practically worshipped her.

She was the deity he deemed worthy of his love, if only she reciprocated the sentiments.

His holoform flickered to life a nanoklik later, still taller than her but a lot closer to her than before. Predaking approached her with practiced grace, stopping an inch behind her and reaching his servos (now hands) up to her shoulders. The touch made her jump out of her skin, and he saw her turn her head enough to glance back at him, confusion clear in her eyes. With a kind smile, he began dragging his fingertips down her arm, his lips pressing just against her earlobe.

His hands stopped over her own, and he allowed himself to memorize the feel of it. Her skin was extraordinarily soft against his cold holoform. The king traced circles on her hands as he began to speak quietly to her, his voice a whisper that made her shiver. "You are the most beautiful femme I've ever had the honor of laying my optics upon," his still golden optics slid closed. "Even when you've just returned from conflict, you still manage to outshine all the other femmes in the galaxy. You're gorgeous, and while you may not think much of yourself..."

He trailed off, pressing his lips tenderly against the skin of her shoulder, intertwining their fingers. His optics opened to watch her, seeing her look straight ahead with wide eyes, hands still firmly against the glass. "If only you knew how easily you had my spark in the palm of your hands, you would realize just how significant you are to me. I need you as much as I need energon, Nariko."

The Japanese woman slowly pulled away from him, slowly taking back her hands and turning to have her back to the cylinder. He could see that she understood him loud and clear in her eyes, which were looking into his own with an overflow of emotion that nearly paralyzed him where he stood. Nariko was absolutely _gorgeous. _

"Predaking?" She didn't quite want to understand him, so with a deep sigh, the Predacon stepped back to give her some space.

"Nariko, you may not be a Predacon like I am, or even a Cybertronian, and you think that somehow makes you lower than everyone on the Nemesis. But it doesn't," he spoke clearly. "In fact, you are the person that matters most to me. It might seem far-fetched, and I'll respect you if you think I'm crazy, but I'd like for you to hear me out."

The mech crouched down, resting one knee on the ground and staring up at her. He could see the shock in her eyes as she fought the urge to brush back her hair, a nervous habit he noticed she had whenever she was incredulous. "You are my true queen. No one has ever deserved the title as you do, and even if you refuse, I want you to know that I hold you dear in my spark."

Nariko remained silent for a moment, before a soft chuckle pushed past her lips, and he was admittedly confused. When she dropped to her knees in front of him and laughed, Predaking continued to stare at her, intrigued. "You really know how to use words, Predaking," she breathed out, wrapping her arms around the neck of his holoform and pulling him into a hug.

His instincts stopped him from falling forward onto her, his hands stopping his descent as the dark haired femme cuddled closer to him. Her brown eyes hid behind her eyelids as she leaned against him, hold onto him a bit tightly out of fear of this moment escaping forever. Whether he admitted it or not, he was just as afraid.

"But I think you were trying to say," Nariko pushed herself away from him, allowing him the moment to retrieve his balance before he reached out to hold her cheeks. He already knew what words she was going to say, he had heard many humans share them with each other.

"I love you."


End file.
